The Way Smart Women Grieve
by pieisfantasticforme
Summary: Pepper Potts visits Wakanda post-Civil War, AU because Tony died in Siberia
1. A Threat

Pepper walked slowly, deliberately across the smooth marble floor of the Wakandan palace. She had flown in from New York two days ago to input her ideas into the Sovokia Accords amendments. Wakanda was hosting a conference on adjusting the Accords to be fair to all parties involved. She supposed it still wasn't enough for some people. She reached up to flatten her strawberry blonde hair in the Wakandan humidity. She wore a loose business suit yet still everything in this place seemed oppressive. She passed by a water feature, something with spouts, but the fact that she was surrounded by beauty was the farthest thing from her mind.

Tony would've loved this, she pondered, a technological candy land of sorts. Wakandan technology even rivaled Stark tech. But with that thought brought back the reason she was here at all. Tony would never get to love this, or anyone again.

She rounded the corner and finally saw what she came for. The room was casual a lounge of sorts where world leaders could discuss the accords. She straightened her aching back and bit back the beginnings of nausea. He thought he was safe here, Pepper was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and had FRIDAY backing her every move. It took maybe a week for her and the AI to dig of the locations of "Team Cap". Pepper laughed, a low cynical sound that drew attention to her in the room. First she saw King T'Challa who started at the sight of her, he would, wouldn't he, she had given dozens of press conferences condemning the actions of Wakanda, for first being a vehement backer of the Accords then harboring fugitives who broke them. She would even say she had a role in making this conference happen.

T'Challa stepped forward hands a stretched out almost placatingly, before abruptly stopping at the biting tone of Pepper's voice.

"My fight is not with you or your people, step aside."she stated voice colder than the ice in Siberia.

The next people to attempt to stop her reign of terror was Clint Barton.

"Hey Pepper, how are you doing? How's the comp-" He was stopped in his tracks by Pepper's raised hand.

"You are no better than him, but as much as I would like too I don't have time to deal with every member of your little team of rogues." Clint looked like he was about to retort as his face turned an alarming shade of red, but was silenced by a look from the devil incarnate, at least in Pepper's eyes, who had just noticed Pepper entering the room.

A hush fell over the large gathering space as eyes were drawn to the two people standing unmoving just staring at each other.

Later accounts would call the opponents equally formidable despite one of them being a super soldier.

Steve opened his mouth first, mumbling out a weak, "Ms. Potts….."

Pepper cut him off sharply with, "Funny you should say that. Did you know why we were on a break?" At Steve's look of surprise, she spoke,"Oh yeah I know he told you, FRIDAY has eyes everywhere."She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box, "I was deciding whether to accept his proposal,"

Steve visibly winces at this.

Pepper just scoffed, "You think that's bad? Oh this is just going to be delightful!" Sarcasm laced her every word and twisted her elegant features. "He wanted to be with me for the rest of his life, You know the day after he left for Siberia, I got sick, I shrugged it off as stress, when they declared him missing four days after he left for Siberia, I attributed it to worry for his sake, the day they found his body, broken, frozen in that hellish wasteland with Captain America's Shield, his childhood hero, oh yes Captain America's shield lying next to him covered in his own blood, that day I found out I was pregnant."She spit out the last words like they were venom.

If any place could reach absolute silence, that Wakandan lounge did. Steve himself had paled to the point where he almost looked translucent. Clint blinked like he didn't understand what he was hearing. T'Challa however just looked saddened.

"I have power," Pepper continued, "not the kind you're used to, but power nonetheless. I will sway the media to my side, I will use each and every resource at my disposal to ruin you." Her voice almost hoarse from shouting softened as she said, " He would have been a great father, so much better than your friend Howard ever was to him," friend was emphasized to make the most impact on Mr. Rogers, "But because of you, he will never get the chance to meet his daughter, so I will ruin you, and I will raise my daughter to know that the reason her daddy doesn't tuck her in at night, is not because he did anything, but because of some washed up heroes with misguided loyalty to a man who only ever cared about Bucky Barnes, and took advantage of your daddy's generosity, trust, and finally last in a long line of things Steve Rogers took from my sweet Tony, he took Tony's life by leaving him to drown in his own blood, the way he died only in his worst nightmares about Afghanistan that woke him up crying in the middle of the night." Pepper smiled a cruel smile, the smile of someone who has had the other half of themselves ripped from them injuring their soul in the process.

"I want you to know I don't blame Bucky, only you. If I ever see you again, Mr. Rogers, I will have you arrested and go for the death penalty." Pepper turned to address T'Challa, turning her back to the room of shocked people, "You are harboring the murderer of the love of my life, and even though I have no animosity for Wakanda, I urge you to rethink your choices."

With that Pepper straightened, smoothed down her frizz on the back of her head, turned and strode head held high out of the room and so forth out of the palace leaving nothing but the deadly click of her heels behind her.


	2. A Lost Man

_Her mind wandered back to her first ultrasound. It was cold, bitingly so, it was only a few days after the funeral. Her OB was discreet, a family friend, she walked up the stairs and sunk down on a cold leather club chair. What seemed like seconds later a high reedy voice called out her name, and she entered a small, cozy even, examination room. To the left of the bed was a chair. Her breath caught in her throat, and tears that had evaded for days were painful pinpricks in the corners of her eyes. Tony should be here. He should be here cracking jokes and being endearingly inappropriate. The OB-GYN came in and after doing routine checks, asked her if she was ready and suddenly she could see her baby. Her baby. Their baby. The feeling of numbness that had pervaded since the funeral was washed away with the tiny form she saw inside of her. He visited his memorial that day and left a folded copy of the ultrasound tucked somewhere curious passerby wouldn't see. Maybe despite Tony's unmoving belief in nothing but science he was still looking out for them._ The rumbling feeling of the plane accelerating roused Pepper from her reverie. Despite having flown hundreds of times, she braced a hand against the window and curled her hand protectively over her rounded stomach. She was thinking Maria for the name, to honor Tony's mom. Tony had always spoken highly of his mother. But with the thoughts of Tony's parents brought back the sting of Rogers betrayal, keeping the information of his parents demise secret. She had completed step one of her master plan. Pepper wasn't crazy with revenge and she cares about her child more than anything else but she can't live with the way Tony died if she does nothing. Next step of her plan was simple, the media. As soon as she landed in JFK, she would begin drafting a press conference. Pepper Potts would tell the world who her Tony was, not the Tony the world saw but the Tony who would make her pancakes at two in the morning cause he just came out of the lab and honestly didn't know what time it was, and who ripped that Tony from this world.

Steve sat in shock, it had been hours since Pepper had left, but her words were bouncing around in his head, _childhood hero_ , Clint had stalked away still cursing under his breath albeit halfheartedly, _his worst nightmares_ , Sam and Wanda had got the sparknotes version from T'Challa and were now unsuccessfully trying to talk to Steve, _never get the chance to meet his daughter,_ T'Challa himself was locked inside of one of his many rooms in his private wing, wondering what he'd had sacrificed opening his home to what he thought were good people. T'Challa rubbed at his temple with two fingers, he now faced a dilemma.

The world grieves for Tony Stark in its own way. The media forever two faced suddenly sung the praises of the man they had spent years demeaning. A boy in Tennessee cries for days when he realizes his hero is gone for good. His sister sits quietly too young to understand the true meaning of death. A teen and his aunt in Queens try to move on without realizing they don't want to. James Rhodes resigns his military commission, and puts his whole effort into reestablishing the Avengers without the exiles. The people of New York place flowers at the foot of what has become once again Stark Tower, and share stories of everyday heroism in his honor. A red-haired spy lounges on a veranda in Mumbai checking the news for the first time since her flight from the compound she had called home and immediately dropped her water glass with a resounding shatter. In a small village on the Yucatán Peninsula a scientist tries to make amends for abandoning his friend by helping care for villagers. And through it all, a woman sits in an empty penthouse slowly planning to do something, to fill this void Anthony Stark has left, and leave a better world for his daughter.

A/N

Sorry for the short chapter, more of a set up for what's to come.

Thanks for Reading, and thanks especially to those who reviewed I appreciate constructive criticism.


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